1913 Cat and Mouse Act - UK Parliament 1913 Cat and Mouse Act Title: 1913 Cat and Mouse Act Date : 1913 Catalogue number : Parliamentary Archives, HL/PO/PU/1/1913/3&4G5c4 Description : The government sought to deal with the problem of hunger striking suffragettes with the 1913 Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act, commonly known as the Cat and Mouse Act. This Act allowed for the early release of prisoners who were so weakened by hunger striking that they were at risk of death. They were to be recalled to prison once their health was recovered, where the process would begin again. Suffragettes Suffragettes Explore a new resource that looks at the campaigning techniques of the suffragists and suffragettes. The Suffragettes The suffragists failed to achieve votes for women by peaceful methods. Many women began to advocate a more militant approach. These groups became known as the suffragettes. Their motto was 'Deeds not Words'.

In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) with her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. The WSPU adopted militant tactics. They chained themselves to railings, disrupted public meetings and damaged public property. In 1913, Emily Davison was killed throwing herself under the King's horse at the Derby. Suffragettes were arrested and imprisoned, but continued their protest in prison by hunger strike. Although initially they were fed by force, in 1913 the Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health Act was passed in Parliament. Commonly known as the Cat and Mouse Act, this allowed prison authorities to release hunger-striking women prisoners when they became too weak, and re-arrest them when they had recovered. Emmeline Pankhurst was jailed and released on 11 occasions. When the First World War broke out in 1914 the suffragettes and suffragists stopped their campaign in support of the government's war effort. In 1918 - after the war - women were given limited voting rights. Talked Out!

​Holloway Prison for women, 1902-1945 Yvonne Jewkes and Helen Johnston (Universities of Leicester and Hull) History and research Holloway prison was originally built as the New City of London Prison in 1852. At that time it was a local prison holding both male and female prisoners and run by the local authorities; it was not until 1877 that the Prisons Act transferred the administration of all local prisons to central government. In 1902 Holloway was re-designated and became the first female-only local prison in England. In 1968 it was decided that Holloway should be rebuilt as a local prison and psychiatric institution and it eventually re-opened in 1983. Today, Holloway holds around 500 women either on remand or under sentence and is one of the largest women's prisons in Europe. It is surprising then, that relatively little is written about the history of Holloway prison. So what kind of evidence is available about the day-to-day administration of the prison and those who were confined in Holloway?

Our research, funded by the British Academy, has begun to uncover the history of Holloway from 1902 until the end of the Second World War. In the early 20th century, the female prison system in England and Wales was significantly altered; reorganised from 62 local prisons holding women in 1878 to only seven female prisons by the 1930s. As London's only female local prison, the largest prison for women and the prison which has held many of the most well-known female criminals, Holloway has always held a significant place in the British psyche and has become, for various reasons, one of the most recognisable prisons in England, at least by name. The records Records for Holloway prison can be found at three sites; London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), the National Archives and a small amount of material at HM Prison Service Museum at the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham.

The LMA records offer us insight into those who lived and worked in Holloway (see CLA/003): convictions 1910-14; nominal registers 1917-64; calendar of prisoners 1905-37; register of officers, 1900-79; matrons journals 1933-54; rules and orders, 1937-51 (although some of these are still closed). The 'Convictions Book' for Holloway (CLA/003/PR/01/001) appears to be a register of the women who entered the prison between 1910 and 1914. It gives basic information; their name, known aliases, age, height, the police court from which they were committed, the sentence given by the magistrate. Similar to other local prison records, there is often little information that would help us to trace these individuals unless they are 'lucky' enough to have particularly unusual names. A prisoner's experience Let us take one prisoner listed as an example.

Maggie O'Brien (alias Mary O'Brien, Mary Freeman, Bridget McCarthy) was 31 years old, five feet in height and was convicted at Clerkenwell Police Court on 2 November 1910 for drunkenness and sentenced to a fine of 40 shillings or one month's imprisonment. During the next five years, Maggie is convicted of a further 21 offences, regularly finding herself in Holloway, serving short sentences for minor offences such as drunkenness or petty disorder. From the late 19th century onwards, there was a great deal of concern about drunkenness and this resulted in the passing of a number of Acts relating to the problem of inebriacy. The Inebriates Act 1898 set up reformatories to which offenders with multiple convictions for drunkenness or drink-related offences could be sent for up to three years. Maggie's numerous convictions for drunkenness meant that she fell under this legislation and on 19 November 1912 the London Sessions sentenced her to three years in an inebriate reformatory and she was sent to Langho Reformatory in Lancashire.

Unfortunately, three years and one week later Maggie is back in Marylebone Police Court for drunkenness. By 8 January 1916 she was again in Clerkenwell Police Court sentenced to 40 shillings fine or one month in prison for insulting behaviour. Whilst this snapshot demonstrates basic information about one woman's criminal record, the limited information makes her difficult to trace more fully. For example, we do not know where Maggie lived. She is convicted at Clerkenwell (see LMA, PS/CLE, 1893-1987), Marlborough Street (see LMA, PS/MS, 1896-1991) and Marylebone Police Courts (see LMA, PS/MAR, 1905-1994) which may help narrow it down, but there is still a large population in these areas. Registers from the police courts may mean we can chase up the court appearance, but often these records contain little information and probably not more than we already have here. Maggie has numerous 'aliases', but one of these could be a maiden name or perhaps an 'adopted' surname of a partner with whom she was co-habiting.

We do not know if she is married or not and all of these issues make women, in general, harder to find in historical records. We are also between Census years, although it is possible that Maggie was convicted of an offence before the first one listed here; her age and criminal record does suggest this was probably not her first conviction. If she happened to be in Holloway when the 1911 census was taken then there is a chance to confirm or dismiss information about her life. Conclusion Maggie and the many other working class women sent to Holloway for short sentences for minor offences (and who made up the majority of the prison population) might be difficult to trace, but other women held there have made a greater mark on history. Suffragettes were imprisoned at Holloway during the early 20th century, the Prison Commission force fed some women who engaged in hunger strikes and later used the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913 known as the 'Cat and Mouse' Act to discharge the hunger strikers. Holloway also held women condemned to death. Fifteen women were executed in England in the 20th century.

Five of these women were hanged at Holloway, including Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in July 1955. Prison Commission and Home Office records are held at the National Archives. Sources You can find more images of Holloway Prison on the LMA Collage website . You can search the Holloway Prison archives, as well as the other sources mentioned in this article in our online catalogue using the following references: Clerkenwell Magistrates Court (previously known as Clerkenwell Police Court) - Reference PS/CLE Marlborough Street Magistrates Court (previously known as Marlborough Street Police Court) - Reference PS/MS Marylebone Magistrates Courts (previously known as Marylebone Police Court) - Reference PS/MAR You can find out more about records relating to justice, crime and the legal system in our collections pages . Published: The Centenary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement | Women's History Network The Centenary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement June 09, 2013 Biography , Event , Politics , Women's History No comments 2013 is the centenary of some of the most prominent events in the name of the women’s suffrage movement.

One of the most famous took place on 4 June 1913, when Emily Wilding Davison threw herself in front of King George V’s horse at The Derby in protest at the lack of women’s rights. We have some amazing documents held at The National Archives on Emily Wilding Davison, which were recently filmed for the Channel 4 documentary Clare Balding’s Secrets of a Suffragette (shown in Britain on Sunday 26 May 2013). Surveillance photographs of Suffragettes (catalogue ref: AR 1/528) The story of Emily Wilding Davison, the first martyr in the name of women’s rights, will be preserved in history, but the suffragette movement was more than just the work of one woman. The many records held here at The National Archives are testament to the number of women who bravely fought for justice (a few of which are pictured right – catalogue ref: AR 1/528 ).

A game of cat and mouse Another historic event in 1913 was the introduction of the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913, also known as the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’, owing to the way the government seemed to play with prisoners as a cat may with a captured mouse. The Act allowed temporary release, on licence, for suffragettes on hunger strike, until they were well enough to be rearrested and complete their sentence. Eileen Casey, 1897. Image by kind permission of Sarah Laughton One of the lesser known suffragettes released under this act was Eileen Casey (sometimes referred to as Irene in the records) formerly of West Park Road, Kew, which some of you will have walked past on your way from Kew Gardens station to The National Archives. Eileen went to prison several times as a result of her actions in campaigning for women’s rights. Like Emily Wilding Davison, Eileen had a ‘royal encounter’ that resulted in her arrest and conviction for possessing explosives in Nottingham Market Square on 24 June 1914, the day King George V visited a factory in Nottingham’s Lace Market.

That was just one year after Emily Wilding Davison threw herself in front of his horse at The Derby. On the day I was researching the suffragette records, I was very fortunate to be asked for the file on Eileen Casey (catalogue ref: HO 144/1206/222067 ) by Document Services as it had been requested by a member of the public. That person was Sarah Laughton who was researching Eileen Casey, her great aunt, and she was keen to find out what my interest was in her ancestor. Through my correspondence with Sarah, she told me about her research into her courageous great aunt Eileen: ‘I found the file [at The National Archives] absolutely fascinating. They included both the newspaper cuttings about her court appearances and the official documents about her arrests, hunger strike and force feeding…I have some truly dreadful verse written about this period of her life by a contemporary.

When she was arrested for being in possession of explosives in 1914 she was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment but was luckily released with all the others when war was declared.’ Prior to her conviction for possessing explosives in 1914, Eileen had been arrested on 19 March 1912 for ‘damage’, was arrested a year later on 17 March 1913 for ‘placing noxious substances in a pillar box’ and convicted once again on 3 October 1913 for ‘setting fire to letters in letter box’. File on Eileen Casey (catalogue ref: HO 144/1206/222067) In October 1913, Eileen was sentenced to three months in prison. During the first week of her imprisonment she went on hunger strike which resulted in ill health and led to force feeding. However, her fragile state – reported on 7 October 1913, only four days after her arrest – meant that the force feeding soon came to an end.

On 9 October 1913, the Chief Constable of the prison received a letter ordering the release of Eileen Casey under the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’. It stated that if she failed to return to prison on 18 October 1913, she could be arrested without a warrant. Eileen didn’t return to prison then and avoided going back until 1914. Instruction to release Eileen Casey (catalogue ref: HO 144/1206/222067) An explosive performance fit for a king Eileen Casey. Image by kind permission of Sarah Laughton On 24 June 1914, Eileen left her lodgings with a green dressing box and paper-wrapped parcel and walked to Nottingham Market place where the royal visit by King George V was taking place. Police officers in the area noticed Eileen’s suspicious behaviour around the royal stand and questioned her at the scene about her activities and connections to other militant suffragettes. Eileen admitted to being Irene Casey, the militant suffragette of the same name who was wanted for not returning to Leeds Prison in October 1913.

Detectives arrested Eileen and took her to Guildhall for further questioning where they found on her person 20ft of fuse wire, a detonator and five quarter-pounds of cheddite, along with other items as shown in this incredible list: Press cutting (catalogue ref: HO 144/1206/222067) I think it would be fair to say that Eileen was a woman who liked to come prepared! Within the records are newspaper clippings about Eileen’s trial which took place on 26 June 1914, including one in the Nottingham Guardian, that notes her protestations where she is quoted as saying ‘This will go on until women get the vote!’ and ‘I hope I will be more dangerous before I finish!’. The article goes on to describe her ‘terrific struggle’, with no fewer than five officers in the dock upon announcement that she was to be remanded, providing some great insight into her character and the struggle, quite literally, to stand up for women’s rights.

Press cutting (catalogue ref: HO 144/1206/222067) A local hero As well as her great aunt Eileen, Sarah told me about the whole Casey family who lived in Kew and also supported the women’s suffragette movement: ‘Both Eileen’s mother (Isabella Casey (nee Reay)) and sister (Kathleen – Sarah’s grandmother) were arrested for offences connected with the suffragette movement; Eileen’s mother also spending time in prison. Her father, a doctor, was also a supporter of the suffrage cause and their home on West Park Road, very close to you at The National Archives, was a house that welcomed any suffragette known to Dr and Mrs Casey or not.’ Eileen Casey. Image by kind permission of Sarah Laughton I was struck by the courage of the whole Casey family in fighting for women’s rights and the amazing history we have on our doorstep. I was equally in awe of Sarah Laughton’s quest to research this piece of family history to pass on to her children so that it is not forgotten.

Sarah and her children should be immensely proud of their ancestor Eileen and her strong determination to campaign for women’s rights even when it meant putting her life on the line. According to Sarah’s research, Eileen went to Japan in 1923, following the death of her mother, where she taught English for a number of years. Eileen then moved to Australia at the outbreak of the Second World War where she became a translator (she spoke a number of European languages including Esperanto , as well as Japanese). She stayed on in Australia for some time and became the master of an Emulation Lodge (a Masonic lodge which had both men and women). When she returned to England she lived in London and was a member of a committee ‘Calling all Women’. Eileen spent the end of her life in a nursing home near Sarah’s parents in Hampshire. Eileen Casey, 1965. Image by kind permission of Sarah Laughton I am extremely grateful to Sarah Laughton for sharing this incredible piece of family history and for allowing me to use it, and her amazing photographs, in this blog post.

I will always remember Eileen, especially when I am walking down West Park Road on my way to and from work, and her incredible actions as one of the many brave women that had the courage to stand up for women’s rights, which so many of us take for granted today. Rebecca Simpson (c) June 2013 Rebecca Simpson joined The National Archives’ press office in November 2012. Beginning her career at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, she has worked for a number of Government agencies, charities and arts organisations including English Heritage, CABE, Tate Gallery, Southbank Centre, Relate and LandAid, working in press, communications and events management. She is now part of the team generating media coverage and raising awareness of The National Archive’s diverse collection of records, which includes the annual release of files, UFOs, MI5 as well as some of our more quirky treasures. Share this: Suffragettes in the Parliamentary Archives | Parliamentary Archives: Inside the Act Room Parliamentary Archives: Inside the Act Room — Outreach We were very excited last week when members of the production team behind the new 'Suffragette' film visited the Parliamentary Archives.

Here's director Sarah Gavron, screenwriter Abi Morgan, and producers Faye Ward and Alison Owen, looking at some of our suffrage related documents in the Parliamentary Archives searchroom. Left to right: Faye Ward, Abi Morgan, Alison Owen and Sarah Gavron from 'Suffragette' with archivist Mari Takayanagi Suffragette Banner, Parliamentary Archives, HC/SA/SJ/3/1 As ‘Suffragette’ comes to a cinema near you today, you might be interested to know what the crew looked at. We've got a small but strong collection of material relating to women's suffrage in the Parliamentary Archives. This is our star item, a Women’s Freedom League banner from 1908. It’s actually a printed handbill with a gummed back. Thousands of these ‘Proclamations’ were printed at the time, and stuck up all over London. However, ours is the only copy known to survive, because it was stuck onto linen and mounted on bamboo poles for a protest in Parliament.

Helen Fox and Muriel Matters famously chained themselves to the brass grilles covering the windows of the Ladies’ Gallery, while a third suffragette, Violet Tillard, thrust the banner through the grille and lowered it into the House of Commons chamber. The authorities took the grille out of the window, frogmarched the suffragettes out still attached to the grille, and cut them off in a committee room. 'Cat and Mouse Act' 1913, Parliamentary Archives, HL/PO/PU/1/1913/3&4G5c4 And this is one of the most important Acts of Parliament relating to the suffrage struggle: it's the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, better known by its nickname, the 'Cat and Mouse Act'. This Act was passed following public outcry about forcible feeding of hunger-striking women, something you can see in all its horror in 'Suffragette'.

The Act allowed the authorities to release hunger-striking prisoners until they had regained their health, then re-arrest them to continue their sentence - likened at the time to a cat playing with a mouse, it condemned some women to a constant, unending circle of prison, starvation, brief freedom and then prison again. Police report on Emily Wilding Davison throwing a hammer through a division lobby window 1910, Parliamentary Archives, HC/SA/SJ/10/12/32 Finally, the 'Suffragette' team were very interested to look at the police reports we hold on Emily Wilding Davison, a very well-known suffragette who features in the film. She most famously hid in Parliament on census night in 1911, an event marked by a plaque put up by Tony Benn MP . However the reports show she was here on numerous other occasions too, including hiding in a ventilation shaft, breaking windows and found on a staircase in the middle of the night. You can see all the Emily Wilding Davison police reports online here .

The 'Suffragette' crew were very excited to visit the Original Act Room and see some of the 64,000 Acts of Parliament on the shelves. They also got a tour of some of the other parts of the building with relevance to women's suffrage - view the Reuters news report or see Parliament's Flickr set on their visit. 'Suffragette' was partly filmed on location in the House of Commons - look out for scenes in the film with Carey Mulligan's character Maud giving evidence in a committee room, walking through Central Lobby, and gathered just outside the building in New Palace Yard. Screenwriter Abi Morgan in the Original Act Room If you're wondering whether to see 'Suffragette' or not, why not read a review of the film or listen to a podcast about the film by Mari Takayanagi, Senior Archivist at the Parliamentary Archives. Director Sarah Gavron in the Original Act Room Parliament is celebrating the launch of 'Suffragette' with Suffragette season , a programme of tours and events through October 2015. You can find out more about the history of Parliament, women and the vote on Living Heritage .

Image credits: all ©Parliamentary Archives Cat and Mouse Act Cat and Mouse Act ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Cat and Mouse Act In 1913 the Women's Social & Political Union increased its campaign to destroy public and private property. The women responsible were often caught and once in prison they went on hunger-strike . Determined to avoid these women becoming martyrs, the government introduced the Prisoner's Temporary Discharge of Ill Health Act . Suffragettes were now allowed to go on hunger strike but as soon as they became ill they were released. Once the women had recovered, the police re-arrested them and returned them to prison where they completed their sentences. This successful means of dealing with hunger strikes became known as the Cat and Mouse Act. WSPU postcard published in 1913 As Ethel Smyth pointed out: "Meanwhile things had been going on from bad to worse. The so-called 'Cat and Mouse' Act, of which the murderous, cowardly, pseudo-humane refinement is to my mind more revolting than any torture invented in the Middle Ages, was now in full swing.

The authorities dared not let the women die, so would release them, sometimes half-dead, to be rearrested as soon as they were judged fit to serve the remainder of their sentence. Whereupon the whole hideous business would begin again, the idea being that by degrees bodies and wills would be broken past mending. How a group of civilized Christian men could lend themselves to this proceeding rather than perform a simple act of justice already fifty years overdue is inconceivable - but so it was." Primary Sources (1) In her book Unshackled, Christabel Pankhurst explained the introduction of the 'Cat and Mouse' Act. The Home Secretary argued that the alternative to forcible feeding was to 'let the prisoners die'. He assured the House that women were prepared to die for the cause. 'It has been said,' he said, 'that not many women would die, but I think you would find that thirty, forty or fifty would come up, one after another.' Finally, he foreshadowed the introduction of a new legislative Act to deal with the matter. This proved to be the 'Cat and Mouse' Act, as it was quickly named by the critics of the Government The Government prepared for their fight against Mrs.

Pankhurst by introducing this new measure, framed with the purpose of making her serve, in spite of the hunger-strike, every single day of the long sentence that was surely awaiting her. (2) Annie Kenney experienced the Cat and Mouse Act for the first time in April 1912. She explained what happened in her autobiography, Memories of a Militant. I had as my visitors the matron, the Governor, the doctor, the clergyman, and the visiting magistrate. They all asked me to eat and drink, but nothing would tempt me. The matron, the doctor and I became good friends. The doctor was ever so kind and did his best to persuade me to have fruit, but fruit was no use to me. "I must be out in three days, doctor, or I'll die on your hands!" And the good doctor did not want a death. In three days the gates were opened Mrs. Brackenbury lent us her house at 2 Camden Hill Square. We called it 'Mouse Castle'. All the mice went there from prison and were nursed back to health and prepared for further danger work When I recovered I was re-arrested.

(3) In 1912 Elizabeth Robins was a strong supporter of the militant suffragettes. Octavia Wilberforce revealed in her autobiography that the authorities suspected that Robins was using her house, Backsettown in Henfield, as a hiding place for suffragettes wanted by the police. In 1912 Elizabeth Robins was greatly preoccupied with the Women's Suffrage agitation. 'Mrs. Pankhurst in the Dock' said the placards and 'Vain Search for Christabel'. This was enough for the Henfield villagers to be convinced that Christabel Pankhurst was being concealed at Backsettown and Elizabeth Robins' correspondence was watched by the police! The Pankhursts would come to stay and were constantly seeking her advice Lady Brassey and H. G. Wells also visited her. My family was critical of this visit. They did not know that he had invited himself, that he had stayed up till past midnight arguing with Elizabeth Robins, who disapproved of his affair with the daughter of one of her friends.

(4) Ethel Smyth , Female Pipings for Eden (1933) I have often reflected that during those two months in Holloway for the first and last time of my life I was in good society. Think of it! more than a hundred women parked together, old and young, rich and poor, strong and delicate, one and all divorced from any thought of self, careless as to consequences, forgetful of everything save the idea for which they had faced imprisonment. Among them were elderly gentlewomen - Mrs Brackenbury was seventy-eight! - unfit for the rigours of prison life; young professional women who were deliberately snapping in two a promising professional career, made possible by God knows what heavy sacrifices; countless poor women of the working class, nurses, typists, shop-girls and the like, who had good reason to doubt whether their employers would ever take them back again. But of that they never spoke, perhaps never even thought, in Holloway. No wonder if some of us look back on that time with thankfulness and with awe, for where else on earth could we have scraped acquaintance with the Spirit that in those days had pitched her tent in Holloway Prison? Meanwhile things had been going on from bad to worse.

The so-called 'Cat and Mouse' Act, of which the murderous, cowardly, pseudo-humane refinement is to my mind more revolting than any torture invented in the Middle Ages, was now in full swing. The authorities dared not let the women die, so would release them, sometimes half-dead, to be rearrested as soon as they were judged fit to serve the remainder of their sentence. Whereupon the whole hideous business would begin again, the idea being that by degrees bodies and wills would be broken past mending. How a group of civilized Christian men could lend themselves to this proceeding rather than perform a simple act of justice already fifty years overdue is inconceivable - but so it was. In April 1913 Mrs Pankhurst was once more arrested, and embarked on a hunger and thirst strike. Years afterwards she found among old papers, and gave me, two bescribbled little cards dated 9 April 1913, written on the ninth day of this ordeal which she believed she would not survive.

The matron had mercifully put her in the charge of a wardress she was much attached to, and to her these farewell lines were secretly confided, to be posted to me in case of her death. When hunger-striking she always refused with such terrible violence - mainly I think from personal fastidiousness and sense of dignity - to be forcibly fed, that no doctor dared attempt it, and in this little scrawl her handwriting is, if anything, more legible than usual, as if to show me her will was unbroken. She begs that in case of her death the old invalid mother of her dear wardress, Miss Harper, may be looked after. The next day she was let out and the wardress gave her back the letter; after which she forgot all about it, including her intention of destroying it; and not till nine years afterwards did I even know it had been written! The whole incident is typical of this strange woman, who lived less in the past and more wholeheartedly in the present and future than any one I have ever known. The Martial Chronicles: Fighting Like a Girl 2 - Bloody Elbow Bloody Elbow Click here to read the previous Martial Chronicles: Fighting Like a Girl.

With the Octagon hosting its first ever women's fight, it is worth noting that despite all the UFC's promotional talk of resistance to women's mixed martial arts, there has been a remarkable lack of controversy regarding this match, outside of its perceived uncompetiveness. That two women should be able to compete in the sport and in the UFC if they so wish is apparently the overwhelmingly prevalent view. It would seem that the bigger story is not that women are breaking down another barrier but that society has moved so far ahead that it really isn't that big of story after all. Such tolerant views haven't always been the case. A century ago women fought on the streets London, some using the very discipline that have brought Ronda Rousey wealth and fame, not for sport, but as part of a literally battle for their rights. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of one of the most infamous acts of British Parliament, the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913 , better known as the Cat and Mouse Act.

It was enacted as suffragist (supporters of women's suffrage, or right to vote), particularly the more militant members who were often referred to as "suffragettes", grew increasingly violent following the withdrawal of the Franchise Bill in January 1913 . Earlier attempts at giving women the right to vote had come close to passing, but each frustrating failure had led to violent confrontations. (Most famously in a November 22, 1910 riot that become known as "Black Friday".) For the suffragettes this last "betrayal' by Parliament was the final straw. The suffragettes were mostly part of the Women's Social and Political Union ( or WSPU), a splinter group of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (or NUWSS), which had split off disappointed by the lack of results produced by their more peaceful tactics. Leadership was centered on Emmeline Pankhurst, the "Dear Leader", and her daughter, Christabel. Other key members included Mrs.

Panhurst's two other daughters, Sylvia and Adela Pankhurst (although these two would leave the WSPU in 1913), Norah Docre Fox, and "The General" Flora Drummond. Their motto was to be "Deeds Not Words." They would soon live up to their motto. The group began with protests and publishing flyers, growing more militant as their single demand, the right to vote (or more specifically the right for propertied women to vote) was not met. By 1913 suffragette "commando corps crept out at night to commit spectacular acts of vandalism." These included burning houses, churches, theatres, and railway stations, wrecking train and stoning the houses and carriage of cabinet ministers. But attacks weren't limited to property, as Nell Hall-Humphrey's recalled years later. "We burned houses, but we never attacked anyone physically. Except for the men we horsewhipped." The governments response to these attacks had been arrest and imprisonment. The suffragettes in turn went on hunger strikes, which the officials tried countering with forced feeding, a particularly dehumanizing experience.

Five wardresses held [Nell Hall-Humrphrey] by the face and arms while the prison doctor inserted a tube down her throat and poured in liquids that she could identify as soup, lemon juice, and brandy - and another taste she suspected as was bromide to make her amenable. In the next cell, Mary Richardson, fed through the nostrils, screamed that her eyes were coming out of the top of her head. The forced feeding backfired as the general (male) public began to sympathize with the suffragettes. In response, Parliament passed the previously mentioned Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913 on April 25th. The act allowed for the release of prisoners who had become too ill from a hunger strikes, and then permitted their re-arrested after they'd regained their strength. It almost immediately became known as the Cat and Mouse Act, for how it allowed the government to play with the suffragettes as a cat played with a mouse. The primary targets of the Cat and Mouse Act was the suffragettes leadership. Perpetually between jail and recovering from a hunger strike, the policy had the intended affect of beheading the movement.

The suffragettes response was to make sure Pankhurst and others wouldn't be arrested. For that they would need a force of "bodyguards." We have not yet made ourselves a match for the police, and we have got to do it. The police know jiu-jitsu. I advise you to learn jiu-jitsu. Women should practice it as well as men. ... It is no use pretending. We have got to fight. - Sylvia Pankhurst, New York Times, August 12th, 1913 . Enter Edith Garrud. Mrs. Garrud had been born Edith Margaret Williams in 1872, becoming Edith Margaret Garrud in 1893 when she married physical culture instructor William Garrud of Wales. The two relocated to London where they joined Edward William Barton-Wrights's Bartitsu club (probably in 1899). It was there that they were introduced to jiu-jitsu.

(For more on Barton-Wright and Bartitsu, see The Forgotten Golden Age of Mixed Martial Arts - Part III .) The two studied under the school's jiu-jitsu instructors, Yukio Tani and Sadakazu Uyenishi, the premiere exponents of the Japanese martial art in all of England, and probably Europe. After the Bartitsu Club closed in 1903, they followed Uyenishi to his new dojo in Golden Square. In addition to Mr. Wright, Tani, and Uyenishi, she also studied under "(Tarro) Myaki, (Akitano) Ono, (Mitsuyo) Maida (also known as Conde Koma), Chiba San, and others," a veritable who's who of the best jiu-jitsu masters of the Edwardian era. When Uyenishi eventually returned to Japan it was William who took over the Golden Square School, with Edith becoming the instructor for women and children. Soon after Mrs. Garrud also opened her own dojo in the East End, for the express purpose of teaching suffragist jiu-jitsu.

The latest move of the militant suffragettes is to learn the art of jiu-jitsu with the object of resisting the police. Twenty-five of them are studying under an instructress, who mantains that some of her pupils have already punished rude males. New York Times, April 11, 1909 During this time Garrud also wrote essays , choreographed plays , and gave demonstrations , in which a "large, muscular man was literally twisted round a woman's little finger". Once for the benefit of the Daily Mail , she asked the paper's male representative to try to repeatedly attack her, both unarmed and armed. "I rose convinced of the efficacy of jiu-jitsu,and, aching in every limb, crawled painfully away, pitying the constable whose ill-fortune it should be to lay hands on Mrs. Garrud." Many of these exhibitions were of an overt political nature, often involving an assistant playing the part of a police officer , whom she'd toss around and submit to the pleasure of her suffragist audience. The newspaper had a field day with Mrs.. Garrud and her pupils, and played up the story of "jujitsuffragettes", as one reporter coined them, confronting policemen.

The Policemen of London are feeling rather uneasy just at present.... The Suffragette have taken up the study of ju-jutsu; they will very soon emerge as expert practitioners in the art, and then, Oh, Robert! Meanwhile. Mrs. Garrud is at present, perhaps, the most important of all members of the Woman's Freedom League. I am not aware that she worries much about the vote or anything like that; she does not take a leading part in their meeting, but - and it's a very big but - it is she who is teaching the other members the art of ju-jutsu. - "Jujutsuffagettes: A New Terror for the London Police" Health & Strength, April 24, 1909 In truth, Mrs. Garrud was an ardent suffragette, but was supposedly not "allowed by the organisers of raids on the House of Commons to take a prominent part in them, she might carelessly hurt a policeman if he were rough with her." This didn't stop her from occasionally getting a chance to use her skills. During a meeting of the Women's Freedom League , a policeman expressed doubt that the 4'11" Mrs.

Garrud's jiu-jitsu would enable her to throw him. Smiling she replied "I'm glad you're not more than thirteen stone.". Up shot one ot her feet to meet his diapuragm. Her little arms strained, and as he pulled against himself the man lost his balance, swirled over her head, turned a somersault in mid-air, and tell heavily on the back of his head. In less than ten seconds the Suffragette had thrown the policeman. Fortunately the Daily Mirror managed to capture the image of what happened to the second policeman that gave her a try. These policemen had been gentlemen, according to Garrud. But there are other men who are not a bit nice, men who are merely silly and a nuisance to others besides themselves. I have already had the pleasure of ejecting one youth from a woman's franchise meeting Her school too, served as a redoubt for the suffragettes. Martin Williams, her great-nephew, told the Islington Tribune how She didn't want people to know Golden Square was a dojo, so she was very pleased to have it in the posh end of town because people were less likely to suspect.

The suffragettes would create a disturbance in Oxford Street, but then they'd run back to the dojo and hide their clubs and bats under the floor. By the time the police arrived they'd be pretending they were in the middle of their exercise class. Mrs. Garrud was therefore the perfect choice to train a special new that, according to the New York Times , was being organized in November of 1914 to protect Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst. A band of amazons whose mission it will be to defend the leader whom the police will try to arrest, is being formed. These women were to be known as the Bodyguard and made up by 25 women, mostly from members of the suffragettes "Athletic Society." Led by a young Canadian named Gertrude Harding, these women carried concealed Indian clubs and were trained in jiu-jistu by Edith Garrud in the East End . From then on Mrs. Pankhurst never appeared in public without these Bodyguards, who would resort to both ruses as much as physical means to protect their leader. "Although they couldn't out-muscle the policemen, they could outwit them. On several occasions they staged exciting rescues.

Twice a decoy maneuver led the detectives to carry off the wrong Mrs. Pankhurst. But the sad truth is that, more often than not, the women suffered dislocated joints, broken bones & concussions." - With All Her Might by Gretchen Wilson The Bodyguards made it extremely difficult for the police to carry out what had previously been easy arrests. In one case when Mrs. Pankhurst was returning from the United States, the police boarded and apprehended her at sea on a ocean liner, instead of risking a confrontation with her suffragette protectors. According to Pankhurst, the reasons why they went to such lengths was ...the fear on the part of the police of the body guard of women, just then organised for the expressed purpose of resisting attempts to arrest me. That the police, as well as the Government were afraid to risk encountering women who were not afraid to fight we had had abundant testimony. We certainly had it on this occasion...

Following that incident "General" Drummond "swore that the government should never again 'take our beloved leader." [The Grape Belt Dec 9 1913] Under threat of arrest, Pankhurst couldn't risk going out into the public, but instead addressed crowds from the balcony of wherever she was taking currently taking refuge. Even then, the police would mingle with the crowds and then attempt to arrest her, but she was able to escape each time thanks to "the valiant efforts of the bodyguard." The ingenuity of the Bodyguard was particularly demonstrated when Parkhurt found herself besieged at Mr. Hertha Ayrton's house, which was surrounded by both the police and crowds of women sympathizers. During their vigilance outside, waiting for Mrs. Pankhurst to show, the police noticed a cab drive up to the front door where a veiled woman,surrounded by Suffragettes, exited. The police quickly blocked her way into the cab and, when they attempted to lay their hands on her, someone shouted that "They were arresting Mrs. Pankhurst!" A scuffle ensured and during it the police were able to tear the veiled woman away from her companions.

They piled their captive and themselves into the cab and ordered to chauffeur to drive away. After driving off with their prisoner, however, they raised her veil and found, to their disbelief, that it was not Mrs. Pankhurst, but a decoy. During the confusion the real Emmeline Pankhurst had slipped away in another cab and was now speeding off in a different direction. That was followed by an even more terrible clash on May 9, 1914 in Glasgow, Scotland, that became known as "The Battle of Glasgow." That evening, as Tony Wolf described it in "The Suffragette Who Knew Jiu-Jitsu," St Andrew's Hall was packed to capacity with a crowd largely sympathetic to the Suffragettes' cause. The Bodyguard carefully surveyed the crowd from their vantage point, a semi-circle of chairs set up on the stage directly behind the speaker's podium. Garlands of white and purple flowers decorated the edge of the stage and banners bearing the Suffragette mottoes, "Deeds Not Words" and "Votes for Women" were strung high above them.

The Glasgow police had taken no chances, surrounding the entire hall with a cordon and also stationing 50 constables in the basement. The atmosphere was tense, even more so when the appointed hour of 8.00 came and went with no sign of Mrs. Pankhurst. Many members of the audience doubted that she could possibly break through the cordon, no matter how many Bodyguards she might have to help her. Thus, when she suddenly appeared on the stage, the effect was like magic; though, as with the most apparently sophisticated illusions, the principle was simple misdirection. After spreading a rumour that she would attempt to breach the cordon, she had in fact arrived at the hall early and in disguise, paid for her ticket like any other member of the public, and taken a seat close to the platform. Mrs. Pankhurst managed to say only a couple lines before a large force of police stormed into the hall, but the bodyguards was waiting and ready. As the authorities attempted to get to the speaker up on the platform they were met by resistance.

Flower-pots, tables, chairs and other objects were hurled at them, and, to their surprise, barbwire had been concealed beneath the garlands and wrapped around the platform rail, blocking their progress. The fighting grew even more fierce as Mrs. Pankhurst described what happened next in "My Own Story" . Meanwhile, more of the invading host came from other directions. The bodyguard and members of the audience vigorously repelled the attack, wielding clubs, batons, poles, planks, or anything they could seize, while the police laid about right and left with their batons, their violence being far the greater. Men and women were seen on all sideswith blood streaming down their faces, and there were cries for a doctor. In the middle of the struggle, several revolver shots rang out, and the woman who was firing the revolver--which I should explain was loaded with blank cartridges only--was able to terrorise and keep at bay a whole body of police.I had been surrounded by members of the bodyguard, who hurried me towards the stairs from the platform.

The police, however, overtook us, and in spite of the resistance of the bodyguard, they seized me and dragged me down the narrow stair at the back of the hall. There a cab was waiting. I was pushed violently into it, and thrown on the floor, the seats being occupied by as many constables as could crowd inside. Mrs. Pankhurst had actually planned on being captured, counting on the inevitable press coverage and the resulting public blowback from such a show of force for the capture of one lady at a legal meeting. It was a propaganda "coup". The battle between the suffragettes and police came to a halt shortly thereafter with the start of the Great War. The WSPU called a truce and turned their attention to patriotic support of the war effort. Their support would be rewarded as women, although some were excluded on property grounds, gained the right to vote in 1918. Special thanks to Thomas Nash ADDITION SOURCES The Bartitsu Compendiums Vo. I & Vol.

2 Edited by Tony Wolf Jujitsu Suffragettes, by Godfrey Winn (pay site, but here's links to part 1 and part 2 .) "With All Her Might; the Life of Gertrude Harding, Militant Suffragette" by Gretchen Wilson. I should also note that Tony Wolf has a book out entitled "Edith Garrud: the Suffragette Who Knew Jujutsu," which I haven't read yet, but based on his other work, is probably worth recommending. IMAGES "The Arest." by Arthul Wallis Miles, Punch Magazine, 1910 via wikimedia.org "Black Friday" via martialhistory.com WOMENS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL UNION Banner via wikimedia.org "LADIES CRAZE FOR JIU-JITSU" from Daily Mirror Jan 3 1906 "Mrs. Garrud, a well known suffragette..." From the Sketch, December 191, 1913 "SUFFRAGISTS AND JIU-JITSU" via paperspast.natlib.govt.nz In this Storystream

Question: What wasthe 'Prisoners Temporary Discharge For Ill- Health Act of 1913' better known as?
Answer: 'CAT AND MOUSE ACT'